Mysticon Mothers
by GuardianAngel1234567
Summary: A few heartfelt tales of the Mysticons' most challenging adventures.
1. Runeford

**After seeing the preview for episode 32, I just had to get started on these.**

* * *

 _How did her sister survive the streets of the Undercity with_ _ **that guy**_ _around?_

The girls had to stop chasing Mathis after Zarya fell down the sewers. When they followed her there, they were suddenly drawn by a strange light that led them to...

 _A dragon egg..._

Memories flashed before the princess; When she and Zarya touched the pillars at the same time, resulting in the hatching of the...

The egg glowed brighter. _Then it hatched, revealing..._ _ **the dragon.**_

 _A_ _ **baby**_ _dragon._

At first, Arkayna wanted to back away, but strangely, she found herself feeling, _drawn_ to the infant creature in front of her.

She didn't even notice her eyes were slightly glowing green.

* * *

For as long as he could remember, his entire world was _dark,_ and he was all _alone._

Then came that _spark._ A spark of _light,_ in his _dark, lonely_ world.

As the light grew, he could hear a sound. A _voice._ Other than his.

It felt so _warm,_ hearing the voice of _another._

Suddenly, he found himself in a strange new world. It was dark, but not as dark as the world he spent his previous life in.

Then he saw, _them._ 4 tall things, and a smaller one staring straight at him. He greeted them with a small chirp. They, in return, greeted him back. _In their own strange way._

The tall ones talked among themselves. The little dragon listened with curiosity, wondering what they were talking about.

Then one of them spoke. The one with the long hair and crown.

It... _she_ sounded _familiar. Like the voice that came with the light._

 _Was she... his..._ _ **mommy?**_

The baby dragon jumped on Arkayna before giving her a big lick on the face. The princess laughed while her sister and friends could only watch in confusion.

"You okay, Sis?" Zarya asked skeptically.

" _Yeah. Never better._ " Arkayna smiled, Not taking her eyes off the baby dragon's.

Em waved her hand in front of Arkayna's face. When she didn't respond back, this confirmed the group's suspicions;

"Yeah. We better head back home."

At least they got to see Mathis get his just-desserts when the baby dragon blew flames on his pants.

* * *

"Well... at least it doesn't look like it's going to destroy the realm... _yet._ "

When the girls returned to the Stronghold, Malvaron and Doug were surprised to see the baby _dragon_ with them. Doug was more frightened as he jumped on his best friend's arms when he saw the baby dragon.

"Where did you girls find it?" Malvaron asked.

"We found _him_ in the sewers." Arkayna replied as she cradled the baby in her arms.

" _What? Aw._ " Doug suddenly felt pity for the little dragon, " _Poor little guy._ "

"How in the whole realm did a dragon egg ended up in the sewers?" Malvaron asked, puzzled.

"Don't look at us. We just found it." Zarya replied.

" _Him,_ Zarya. _Him._ " Arkayna corrected, " _He_ has feelings too you know. _Isn't that right, Runey?_ "

The baby dragon let out a small, adorable coo, which the others couldn't help but awe at.

"Wait." Emerald managed to snap out of it, "You named him _'Runey'_?"

"No." Arkayna replied, "I named him, _'Runeford'_."

Zarya chuckled at the name, " _'Runeford'?_ "

Suddenly, to her surprise, Arkayna _hissed_ at her, momentarily, before turning her attention back to Runeford.

 _Zarya swore she noticed that her sister's eyes were_ _ **reptilian**_ _for a moment there._

* * *

Arkayna decided that Runeford needed some air.

Just as she was on their way to the balcony, they suddenly bumped into her stepbrother who was too busy with his spellpad.

When he looked up and saw Runeford, he remarked, "You still sleep with a _toy?_ "

Runeford suddenly let out a small burp, unintentionally blowing small flames on Gawayne's face, turning it black.

" _Runeford._ " Arkayna slightly scolded the dragon, " _Tell your uncle you're sorry._ "

Runeford let out an apologetic chirp before he and his mommy continued on their way, leaving behind a very shocked Gawayne.

 _"I'm an_ _ **UNCLE?!**_ _"_

* * *

"Let me get this straight; My stepsister, and her long-lost sister are _Mysticons,_ and now she's turning into a _dragon_ all because she played _mommy_ to a dragon?"

"Yep. Pretty much it." Zarya confirmed as she, Piper and Em rode their Griffins across Drake City in search of Arkayna, who... _you'll see._

 _His stepsisters are_ _ **Mysticons.**_ One minute, his stepsister was snapping at him for being a _terrible_ king, stepbrother, and uncle. The next thing he knew, she sprouted wings, took to the skies with her baby dragon, and transformed into _**the Dragon Mage?!**_

Now here he is riding with his other stepsister, who turned out to be Mysticon Ranger, on her Griffin, looking for their brain-washed sibling all over Drake City.

" _Where is she?_ " Zarya groaned with worry.

"On the roof?" Piper advised.

A winged creature flew to the top of the Royal Palace. When the Mysticons, along with Doug, Malvaron, and Gawayne landed there, they found Arkayna, _feeding_ Runeford by _regurgitating_ food into his mouth, much to their disgust.

" _How... Where did she even...?!_ " Em was too disgusted to even finish.

When Arkayna stepped into the light, they were horrified to discover that she became more draconic than before; Her hair was lifted up, as if resembling dark flames. Most of her skin was covered in green scales. She even have claws and razor-sharp fangs.

" _Why couldn't you just destroy the realm instead of making my stepsister_ _ **hideous?!**_ " Gawayne cried, " _Wait. That's worst._ "

Things got worse when Proxima and the Vexicons arrived.

As always, Gawayne hid behind the sidelines, not wanting to get involved in the fight.

As he watched the Mysticons fight Proxima and the Vexicons, he found himself thinking about his Coronation; When he got captured and the Mysticons saved him.

 _His lame_ _ **stepsister**_ _and her friends actually_ _ **saved him!**_

And that time when he got captured by the Vexicons, his _**other stepsister**_ _convinced_ him to do the _right thing._

 _Wow. Even after being the realm's_ _ **worst**_ _king, his stepsisters still_ _ **save his life, MANY times.**_

Something struck him and pinned him down. To his horror, it was his own...

" _ **Stepsister?**_ "

Arkayna hissed at her stepbrother, revealing her _forked tongue._

Gawayne never felt so scared in his entire life. And... _worried..._

" _Arkayna?_ " Gawayne called out nervously to his stepsister, " _You wouldn't hurt your own stepbrother, would you?_ "

Arkayna hissed in response.

"Okay, _okay!_ As a mutant dragon, you _would._ " Gawayne went on, " _I know I can't stand you, and you can't stand me, and sometimes I wish I was an only child and, sometimes I read your diary, and...!_ "

When Arkayna opened her mouth _**wide,**_ he knew he had to speed things up, " _ **I MISS MOM AND DAD TOO!**_ "

Arkayna looked down confusingly at her stepbrother.

"You're protecting that dragon because you think he's like _Mom and Dad._ " Gawayne pointed out, " _I miss them too._ "

Arkayna eyes widened in surprise. When Zarya heard him, she stopped to listen to what her stepbrother was going to say next.

"Sure it's great to be king." Gawayne frowns, "But its also kinda... _lonely._ You know when I found out I had _another_ stepsister, I was all..."

Zarya thought back to the time Arkayna told Gawayne about her. _Man. Can that guy scream._

"But that doesn't mean I wanted you to _go_." Gawayne sniffed, "Sure I have another stepsister. But it won't be same without the other. Also if Mom finds out, she'd ground me, or _exile_ me. _And I just want_ _ **both**_ _my stepsisters to make my life miserable than those_ _ **lamer posers!**_ "

" _ **Hey!**_ " The Vexicons stopped to protest.

"Also..." Gawayne went on, "Without you guys... no one would protect the realm... and bring _our_ parents back. _And everyone loves you guys and hate me! And no one would nag me around whenever I read their diary! And I won't have anyone to boss around except my butler! And...!_ "

" _Get your hands off my diary._ "

Gawayne stopped when he heard that familiar voice. When he looked up, he was staring at the familiar scowl of his stepsister, when she's not mind-controlled.

" _Arkayna!_ " Both Gawayne and Zarya hugged their sister and she hugged them back.

" _Seriously though; Back off._ " Arkayna remarked before resuming their hugging moment.

Too bad Proxima had to ruin it.

Also... It turns out Arkayna _can't fly, without being mind-controlled._

 _At least they won in the end._

* * *

After that intense battle, the sibling knew _where_ to relax.

"Hey Mom. Dad." Zarya greeted the statues of their parents, "Don't freak out, but Sis just got herself a baby dragon."

"We started off in the wrong claw, but, _hey_. Kids." Gawayne shrugged, " _What ya gotta do?_ "

"He can't wait to meet you too." Arkayna smiled as Runeford held her mother's hand.

Few moments later, they had to leave as _someone_ was getting hungry. _Along with Runeford._

As the others complained about the _way_ Arkayna was _still feeding_ her baby, no one noticed the small glowing green cracks on Queen Goodfey's hand, nor did anyone see the cracks disappear after a few seconds.

* * *

 **Does anyone know what Little Runeford** **'s role is in the story?**

 **More babies coming up! Guess who's the next mother?**


	2. Howlette

**I hate WPS!**

 **They did not only FORCE me to restart my tablet every time I use their app, but because of them, I lost valuable data.**

 **Hope Polaris isn't like them.**

 **Anyway; I was hoping they would keep the dragon.**

 **Oh well. Still sticking to my story.**

 **And considering they didn't keep the dragon, this is an alternate to the last chapter.**

 **This happened after Proxima is purified, the Queen and King are returned to flesh and bone, and Necrafa is purified back into Nessira.**

* * *

 _Who knew being a mother would turn out to be_ _ **dangerous**_ _?_

 _At least they got Arkayna back, but the mystery of Runeford still remains. How could one baby dragon grant such power to the Dragon Mage, and almost turned her into a dragon in the first place?_

Arkayna didn't want to say good-bye to Runeford. The little dragon felt the same way, but they knew it was best if she lived with the other dragons. That's why they contacted the Dragon King.

When the Dragon King Valmarr and his fellow dragons saw Runeford, their faces were filled with so much shock that they bowed before the little dragon.

To everyone's surprise, Runeford turned out to be the child of the _**Mystical Dragon**_ , one of the most powerful Mystical Beasts that protected the realm thousands of years ago.

As it turned out, the Mysticons were chosen not only to protect the realm, but to raise the next _heirs_ of the Mystical Beasts.

To the Astromancers' dismay, the reason why the Beasts didn't choose them was because they lacked the _heart_ to do so.

 _Well_... One of them had the heart, but she alone wasn't enough to raise and nurture all 4 baby Beasts.

Now here they are; The Mysticons, the Astromancers, the Royal Family, and the Pink Skulls on a quest to find the other three eggs that were scattered all over Gemina.

Their first stop; Zarya's old home, _which was destroyed by a tyrannical parrot._

 _Zarya never thought she'd come back here,_ _ **twice**_ _._

The last time she came back here was when Proxima brought Captain Kaos back from the dead. He kidnapped her sister and brought her to the ruined village she was raised in as leverage for her to hand over one of the keys that will open a very powerful chest.

Come to think of it, before they left, Zarya felt _something_ was calling for her... But she shrugged it off as a moment of nostalgia.

Now here she is once again. With her family.

"They must have been good-hearted people." Queen Goodfey joined her daughter as she stared at her ruined old home.

"They were." Zarya replied, reminiscing about her adopted family.

"It would have been a blessing to meet them and expressing my gratitude." The Queen mused.

"They would love that." Zarya replied, not taking her eyes off the horizon.

"At least they'd be proud of you becoming a mother." Queen Goodfey smiled.

"Yeah...?" Zarya's eyes widened in surprise before she shook her head, " _Caretaker_ , Mom. _Caretaker_. And maybe _tamer_."

"Oh come on." Kitty teased, "You'd make a great _mommy_."

" _Tamer_." Zarya insisted, "Sure I'd be getting an awesome new partner, (briefly shift to jealous Choko and jealous Archer) but there is _no_ way am I ending up like _that_."

Everyone turned to Arkayna.

" _Gawayne!_ " Arkayna searched for her stepbrother. She held Runeford on one arm while her other hand held onto a sailor outfit about the same size as Gawayne, " _You said you were going to be an amazing uncle!_ "

" _Other than dress-up!_ " Gawayne realized his mistake when he got out of his hiding place. He desperately clung to the floor as he was dragged by his stepsister.

"You two are _twins._ " Emerald pointed out.

"Twins don't always think alike." Zarya countered, making everyone mutter in agreement, "And when I find my Beast, there's no way I'm going to go, _'Aww'_."

* * *

" _Still think he's a wise teacher?_ " Zarya asked Nova Terron sarcastically after they, along with her parents, stepbrother, Nessira, Proxima, Kitty and Choko, were separated from the others and were trapped inside the caverns thanks to the Alphamancers' attack.

" _I'm sorry!_ " Nova Terron apologized, again.

 _They're never going to let it go._

"Are you guys okay?" Arkayna called from the other side of the rock barrier that separated her from her family.

"We're fine." Queen Goodfey assured, "Since we're here, we might as well search for the egg."

" _You do that, and we'll find a way to get you out._ " Arkayna confirmed.

Zarya's group followed the path before them until they came across three entrances; One would lead them to where the egg is, the other two would... _you know_.

Nessira summoned a ball of light which flew around before it entered the center entrance and disappeared.

"When in doubt, follow the light." Kitty mused as they approached the center.

 _Not there..._

Zarya stopped when she heard that voice in her head. When Kitty took one step inside the entrance, she grabbed her arm and pulled her back just before a rain of sharp rocks pelted the ground.

" _That, never happened before._ " Nessira remarked with shock. Her tracking spells _never_ ever point them to the wrong way before.

The voice echoed once more in Zarya's head, telling her to go to the left entrance.

From there, the group followed the path until they came across a large cavern.

In the center, separated from where the group was standing, were two large spiky rocks; One on the ceiling, and one on the ground. In the middle, hovering between the two spikes, was the egg of the Mystical Wolf.

"Wait." Nova Terron stopped Zarya before she could take a step forward. He magically summoned a helmet and a shield for himself before giving the Ranger a thumbs up.

 _Runeford doesn't bite that much._

 _But maybe hers will._

Zarya took one step forward, only for the ground beneath her feet to break, causing her to fall to the abyss below, much to the worry of her family and friends.

To everyone's relief, she landed on a large rock that levitated her around the spikes.

 _This must be what Arkayna felt when she first touched Runeford's egg._ Zarya couldn't take her eyes off the egg as is began to glow in a bright, blue light. The same light that was emitting from Zarya's eyes.

The light from the egg grew until it enveloped the entire cavern in its glow, forcing everyone except Zarya to cover their eyes.

After a few seconds, the light died down. Zarya blinked when the glow in her eyes disappeared. Once she regained her sight, she realized the egg was gone.

In it's place, was a blue wolf cub.

* * *

 _"I'm sorry, Little One."_

Those were the last words she heard. The last voice she heard.

She never heard another voice for the last thousand years ever since.

It was just her. Only her. In a world filled with darkness. _Only darkness._

Then one day, she heard _her_. The first voice she heard in years.

 _She_ was looking, for _**HER**_!

 _ **FINALLY!**_ _After all these years...?!_

 _Oh no!_ _ **She's**_ _going the_ _ **wrong**_ _way!_

She managed to save _her_ in time and lead _her_ to the right path. The closer _she_ got, the more she was excited to finally meet _her_ , _**her mommy!**_

Suddenly, a spark of light appeared in her dark world. It grew and grew.

 _Finally, she was_ _ **free**_ _...!_

The moment she opened her eyes, there _she_ was.

 _Her mommy._

Zarya was caught by surprise when the wolf cub tackled her... _which led them to fall to the abyss again._

"Please let there be another rock." Darius hoped.

 _There wasn't another rock..._

Instead, Zarya was levitated in front of them. The Mysticon Ranger was surrounded in blue light, clutching the wolf cub in her arms.

Turns out; The cub's the one levitating her. Then she just dropped her on the ground.

 _Couldn't she just let her down gently?_ Zarya's annoyance disappeared when the cub happily licked her, causing her to break in laughter. Moments later, she locked eyes with the baby Beast.

 _Those, cute... big... adorable..._

 _No. She swore to herself she wouldn't say IT...! She... WON'T...!_

 _"Aww."_

" _Ha_!" Kitty teased, one hand pointed at her friend, the other holding on to her spellpad, its camera facing Zarya.

" _Oh no_." Zarya groaned. She said IT, " _Please don't glyph my sister._ "

She felt her spellpad vibrating. She opened it, revealing a glyph from her sister, which included a picture of her being licked by the wolf cub, and a message; " _Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww... x) ...Aww._ "

" _Great_." Zarya rolled her eyes, "I'm still not going _mommy_. Or play _dress-up._ "

" _Thank you._ " Gawayne wiped his brow in relief.

"You were happy for the first 5 minutes." Proxima pointed out.

" _First_ 5 minutes." Gawayne emphasized, "Then she wanted me to wear a _tutu_."

* * *

 _Being a mother_ _ **stinks**_ _._

 _Well... Not all the time..._

 _But it is_ _ **annoying**_ _._

 _At some point._

 _This is_ _ **confusing**_ _!_

She tried to resist, but Zarya couldn't help but act serious in one minute, then fuss over her Beast like a mother in another. Sometimes, she would groan before resuming her mixed-up routine.

" _This is so confusing_." She sighed in annoyance before gushing at the wolf cub's, who she named "Howlette", eyes, " _Aww! Look at her precious little eyes! Make it stop!_ "

 _"We'd be delighted."_

Tazma suddenly appeared out of nowhere along with two other Alphamancers, "Hand over the cub."

Howlette growled at Tazma while Zarya held her protectively, "Keep your shady tendrils off my _baby_! Er... _Puppy. Cubby. Wolfy?_ "

Tazma just rolled her eyes as she commanded her shadows to grab Howlette.

Zarya struggles to pull her wolf away from the shadows, but lost to the shadows in the end.

With the Mystical Wolf in their possession, the Alphamancers blasted the ceiling, causing it to fall on the group while they teleported back to their Master.

 _Little do they know, they just unleashed the wrath of a mother._

* * *

 _These guys never give up do they?_

Just as they found another way to free their comrades, the group were attacked once more by the Alphamancers.

Runeford nudged his snout on his mommy's face, catching her attention. He wanted to fight too.

Before Arkayna could comply, Tazma and her two companions suddenly appeared before Alpha Galaga... _And presented a wolf cub before him._

Howlette wiggled angrily in her captor's hands as the leader of the Alphamancers reached for her.

But before he could, his hand was zapped by a blue bolt of energy, and so was Tazma's, causing her to drop Howlette in the process.

A blue blur grabbed Howlette. It stopped, revealing Zarya, her beastly-modified eyes glaring at the Alphamancers.

Her eyes weren't the only thing that changed; Her hair was pulled up to resemble wolf's ears. Blue lightning marks appeared on the bare areas of her arms. Her gloves and boots also had white lightning marks on them. On her cape was an emblem of a wolf.

"Sorry we're late. We...?" Nessira appeared with the others, and was surprised to find Bane on the ground, tied up.

"How could you have let yourself get captured?" Proxima asked in disbelief.

"I just want to point the fact that it _wasn't_ the Alphamancers." Bane glared at Gandobi and Quazala who gave Nessira sheepish waves.

"We, might have overreacted a _little_ bit when you defeated the unbeatable Unbeatabeast." Gandobi admitted.

" _What?!_ " Nova Terron grabbed Bane by the collar, " _Spill or we cut your fingers off!_ "

 _How could Bane defeat the most powerful monster in the game?_

" _Nova!_ " Nessira scolded.

" _Just get me out of here!_ " Bane demanded.

" _No one messes with my baby_." Zarya growled at Alpha Galaga.

" _Aww!_ " The Pink Skulls gushed. Mommy Zarya.

Tazma sent her shadows to bind Zarya. Unfortunately for her, the Ranger slashed her way out, thanks to the new energy wolf claws that came with her upgrade.

"Howlette," Zarya turned to her wolf, " _Time to howl!_ "

Zarya and Howlette howled together as Zarya unleashed her Wolf Bracer to the sky. Howlette jumped inside the Wolf Bracer as it filled her with its power, transforming her into a giant wolf.

The Alphamancers stopped, gazing with shock and surprise at the giant wolf before them. Some of them tried to trap Howlette in a magical net, but the Wolf Beast tore it apart with a powerful thunderous roar, sending most of the Alphamancers far away.

"Guess we should lend a claw too." Arkayna raised her bracer to the sky, " _Unleash the Dragon!_ "

The green dragon made of pure magical energy surrounded both Arkayna and Runeford.

Arkayna's hair was pulled up to resemble flames. Green wings sprouted from her back. Green scale patterns appeared on her gloves and boots. When she opened her eyes, they were now beastly.

Meanwhile, Runeford grew into a giant dragon, about a foot taller than Howlette.

With a mighty flap of their wings, Arkayna and Runeford took to the skies. Arkayna countered any attacking Alphamancer with a flick of her dragon whip. Meanwhile, Runeford blasted them away with his magical breathe.

Galaga knew his forces had no chances in defeating 2 Mystical Beasts, so he ordered his Alphamancers to retreat.

 _Next time, the next Beast will be theirs._

With the Alphamancers gone, Arkayna, Zarya and their Beasts powered down.

The Astromancers turned to Bane, eager to know the secret in defeating the most powerful monster in the game.

"One button on the left, then the big one on the right." Bane spoke bluntly.

" _Which left?_ " Gandobi asked desperately.

"The one the cyclops spilled cheese on." Bane replied with annoyance.

Zarya resisted the urge to laugh as Howlette licked her, but failed. When she saw the amused looks the others were giving her, she sighed in defeat, " _I'm a mommy_."

When Nova Terron approached her, she went wolf, got on all fours, and barked at him before chasing him, thinking he wanted to take her baby away

Nova screamed and ran in terror. It didn't help when Arkayna went dragon and joined her sister in the chase.


	3. Gemstone

Gandobi woke up with a groan and glared at the magical alarm clock the princesses set up for him. He swatted the alarm away before getting up, stretching himself, and began to head to the... _ugh...babies_.

 _No wonder the Mystical Beasts didn't bestow the Astromancers their mystical powers._

The Astromancers agreed to take turns taking care of the Baby Beasts when everyone was asleep. And tonight was Gandobi's turn.

 _Hopefully he wouldn't end up like Quazala._

He made his way to the crib where Runeford and Howlette slept. The twin princesses brought it along for the Baby Beasts.

He suddenly stopped when he noticed the small, shadowy figures slowly creeping their way towards the crib.

Acting quickly, the Astromancers encased the invaders in a magical bubble, which also alerted the others in the process.

Upon seeing the invaders, Runeford and Howlette quickly rushed to their respective mommy's arms just as they were about to punish the ones who tried to take their babies away from them.

" _Who-wha...?_ " Nova Terron muttered before he took off his sleep-mask, "Great job, Gandobi."

Gawayne chuckled when he noticed the Star Master was wearing curlers, and on his beard too, "You wear _curlers_?"

"You still sleep with your _blanky_?" Nova countered.

" _Touche_." Gawayne shot back, holding his blanket in his arms.

Em approached the invaders, only to gasp in surprise upon recognizing their faces.

* * *

"I can't believe you guys stole Mom's sky rider." Em scolded the invaders, her brothers.

"We asked permission." Halite explained.

"Did she even say ' _Yes_ '?" Em narrowed her eyes in annoyance.

The ship's horns blared, signaling that they're already in their destination; Rudix Hollow.

When the ship landed, Em was surrounded by some very excited dwarves. When Halite and Ferrus appeared near their sister, the drawves parted, revealing their parents, eyes narrowed and arms crossed.

"Couldn't you two wait until your sister arrived?" Citrine scolded, "And what did I tell you about using my sky rider?"

"You let Em ride a mech." Ferrus countered.

"She was responsible, and knows how to ask _proper_ permission." Citrine pointed out. Her composure changed when the Royal Family approached her and she bowed in respect, "Your highnesses. Welcome to Rudix Hollow."

"Thank you." Queen Goodfey bowed back, "But there's no need for that. We are grateful for what you've done for our daughters."

"Well... In that case..." Citrine suddenly enveloped the queen in a hug, much to the embarrassment of her daughter.

"Oh! You really are a hugger." The queen giggled in amusement as Citrine let her go.

"And I apologize for my sons barging in on your ship." Citrine angrily glanced at Halite and Ferrus.

"To be honest Mrs. Goldenbraid, they're actually good sitters." Arkayna pushed the stroller Runeford and Howlette were in.

"Way better sitters than the last one." Zarya added, showing pictures of Em's brothers taking care of the Baby Beasts, much to the annoyance of the Astromancers.

"So we can join you in your quest?" Ferrus asked hopefully.

"Oh no. You're still grounded." Citrine scolded.

"Oh come on!" Halite protested, "We want to be Mysticons too like our big sis."

" _Aww_." Em resisted the urge to look at her brothers' _big_ , _pleading_ eyes, "Well you guys were _better_ sitters... As long as you promise to be good uncles."

Malachite's eyes widened at the mention of ' _uncles_ ' and was held back by a couple of dwarves.

" ** _Who is he?!_** " He angrily demanded, swinging his fists.

"Dad, we're just going to look for a unicorn egg." Em explained. Behind her, Kasey hid behind Malvaron, "The previous Knight left it in the mines, and I'm going to be its mommy."

" ** _MOMMY?!_** " Malachite echoed with anguish.

"And we're going to be uncles." Halite added.

 _ **"UNCLES?!"**_

"Oh come on now, Malachite." Unlike her husband, Citrine was taking it well, "It's not like she's getting married."

 _"MARRIED?!"_

 ** _That did it!_**

Malachite wept in despair. _She was too **YOUNG**!_

"Oh come on now." Darius patted him on the back, "Sometimes, you just have to let them go."

When his own stepdaughters passed him, fussing over their Baby Beasts, he wept alongside the dwarf, much to the disbelief of their wives.

 _Why couldn't those Astromancers be more **ACCEPTING?!**_

"We'll give them 5 minutes." Queen Goodfey told Citrine.

* * *

"Are you sure it's in there?" A dwarf asked worryingly as the group stood before a path inside the mines that was boarded up with the words such , **"KEEP OUT", "DANGER", "DON'T BE STUPID", etc.**

"Pretty sure." Em confirmed. _At least that's what the voice in her head told her so._

"No one has ever went in there before for years." Another dwarf said.

"And _who_ said no one could go _there_?" Arkayna asked.

Em suddenly touched the boards, causing the words to glow and levitate before changing into some kind of message.

Em read the message;

 _"'My dear successor, I humbly apologize for bringing such burden to you. Also, I ask the dwarves to forgive me for deceiving them, but the unicorn egg must be protected at all cost._

 _If you were willing to cross this path, then you are a more worthy Mysticon Knight, a title I am unworthy of for I wasn't able to face the mistake I was forced to create. I wish you luck on your quest.'"_

" _Oh Kafras._ " Nessira sadly mused. _She only wished she wasn't so easily tempted by the darkness._

Em continued;

 _"'Also, I should warn you that during my time here, I was so overwhelmed with, over-guilt(?) that I over-trapped(?!) the way to the egg. If you brought a search party with you, I apologize for the scratches, burns, cracks, fractures...'"_

"Okay!" Nessira stopped Em, "That does sound like Kafras."

"He always had a way with traps." Nova added.

 _Quazala chuckled, "Remember that time he rigged your birthday present just to bring you to the venue?"_

It didn't bring him to the venue, but it did bring him to a forest filled with giant bats.

The previous Knight wrote more, but Citrine skipped to the important parts. The more she read, the more she wondered if her daughter's predecessor was too... _careful_.

" _'Your predecessor, and previous Mysticon Knight, Kafras.'_ " Citrine finished. She turned to her sons, "You sure you two still want to go through this?"

"Sure do." Halite confirmed.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Ferrus shrugged.

* * *

 _They weren't kidding about Kafras and traps._

On the way, the group was almost shot by poisoned arrows (made Doug babble like an idiot), almost fell into a row of sharp rocks, almost got incinerated by beams of light, almost fell in a pool of lava...

 _Uhhhhh..._

 _Yeah. It's a path **completely FULL of TRAPS**._

Luckily for the group, it finally end... _Wait no. They just got separated._

"I know he was overwhelmed with over-guilt but... **_KA-FRAS!_** " Nova Terron exclaimed when he, the Goldenbraid Family, and Kasey were separated from the others.

"And Yuna." Kasey added, pointing to a notice on the wall;

 _"'Yuna's idea. Not mine.'"_

" ** _And YUNA!_** " Nova added.

They decided to continue on the path, _hoping_ there aren't any more _traps_.

When they came to the end of the path, they gasped at the sight before them;

At the end was a small grotto. Colorful crystals hanged from the ceiling, illuminating the room in its glow. Many plants and flowers filled the grotto. In the middle of the room, flowing from the ceiling was a small waterfall which spread into a small pond that housed small animals like fishes and frogs.

When Em took a closer look at the waterfall, she could see something floating inside;

 _The unicorn egg._

Em too a step forward, only for her dad to push her back.

Malachite fell on the ground, impaled on his chest was some kind of dart with a message;

 _"'Safety precautions. Not a poison dart. Really.'"_

" _There's something wrong with that boy._ " Malachite muttered in a daze.

After making **_sure_ **there were **_no more_** traps, the family moved on towards the egg; Kasey supporting Malachite on his shoulders along the way.

The group stopped at the edge of the lake. Em was mesmerized by the way the egg reflected off the surface of the water. It almost felt like, the egg was _calling_ to her.

Em's eyes glowed a faint pink as she stepped in the water. Her brothers tried to call out for her, but their parents wordlessly told them to let her be.

As soon as Em touched the surface of the waterfall, the entire grotto was engulfed in a bright light.

When the light died down, she found herself lying down on the pond with something heavy on her chest.

She managed to move her head up, only to find a small, white baby unicorn with a pink mane on top of her, happily wagging his tail.

* * *

 _"I...am not worthy."_

 _Why couldn't he stay?_

 _Ever since that day, he was all alone._

Sure he had company, but he couldn't join them. He was trapped inside his eternal darkness, waiting for the day he could finally break free from his shell.

 _But that day never came._

 _Then, **she** came along_.

He could sense _her_. He could sense her pure heart, her strong will.

 _She's **perfect**._

He couldn't stand another minute waiting for her.

It's a good thing too, because his eternal darkness began to spark.

To his great delight, _he was finally **free**!_

 _ **Free! FREEEE!**_

 _Free to finally be with his **mommy**!_

The foal nuzzled his mommy's cheek, causing her to giggle. Em stood up and cradled the foal in her arms while she caressed her soft, pink mane, "Hey there, _Gemstone_."

" _Aww. He's so **precious**._" Citrine cooed as she and the others approached the foal.

"Yay! We're uncles!" Ferrus cheered.

"We gotta get jobs." Halite muttered.

Gemstone eyed the others curiously. _Were they his mommy's family? Does that make them, **his** family too?_

The foal jumped into Citrine's arms and greeted her with a wag of his tail. Then he landed on Ferrus' head. Surprisingly, the boy was able to support his weight.

"I wonder what _awesome_ powers he has." Halite laughed when Gemstone landed on his head.

Gemstone jumped off and trotted towards Malachite. The burly dwarf sheds a tear upon seeing the unicorn foal, " _I'm a **grandpa**._"

The foal's white horn glowed pink, momentarily engulfing Malachite in the same color before disappearing moments later.

To the dwarf's surprise, he no longer found himself weary. Plus, he can _move_!

Rejuvenated, he grabbed his entire family, including Kasey and Gemstone, into one, big hug.

Nova awed at the warm scene before him. When he noticed Gemstone staring at him, he screamed like a little girl.

 _Please don't be like the other two!_

He braced himself for the worst when Gemstone lit up his horn.

Yet, for some strange reason, he suddenly felt... _at ease._

 _Aww. Why was he afraid of such an adorable little critter in the first place?_

"That's it? He's a _doctor_?" Halite remarked in disappointment.

"Not really an awesome power." Ferrus added.

Suddenly, the wall broke, and out came in the others.

Although...they were acting _different_. And _weird_ ;

Arkayna and Zarya were fighting each other, Gawayne was happily skipping with a crown of flowers on his head, Doug and Choko were crying, Malvaron and the other Astromancers looked gloomy while Proxima giggled non-stop, and, _to Nova's nostalgic terror (he has issues)_ , Nessira and Bane were waltzing in a love-sick trance.

 _Everyone seem to be oblivious to the others' moods._

Malachite checked his map and confirmed, "Looks like they found the mood gems."

Nova ducked as an arrow whizzed over his head. He screamed and ran as Arkayna, Zarya, and their Beasts, who are currently not in their baby-forms, chased him.

"Healing's good right about now." Halite countered his previous statement.

Gemstone lit up his horn, only to be snatched by a happy, skipping Gawayne who twirled him around while telling him how cute he is, prompting Emerald to give chase.

"Nessira?" Bane knelt before the Astromancer, "Will you _marry me?_ "

" _I object!_ " Nova exclaimed, still being chased by the twin princesses, " _And you two said you weren't going to get married until you have achieved **COMPLETE** **ATONEMENT!**_ "

Em pounced on Gawayne, only to miss when he blissfully leaped out of the way. The prince kept twirling around with Gemstone, until he tripped on Ferrus, causing him to let go of the foal who landed safely in Halite's arms.

" _Aww. You guys are good uncles._ " Em baby-talked as she took Gemstone back in her arms.

Gemstone aimed his horn at the crystal ceiling, zapping it. The light from his horn reflected off the crystals and zapped the ones who were affected by the mood gems, snapping them out of their influence.

"Have I been crying my eyes out?" Doug asked in confusion.

" _And...why...do I feel like...I used up...all my air?_ " Proxima asked weakly as she laid on the ground.

"Long story short." Em replied.

"Wait. Where's Nessie?" Nova asked with worry.

To everyone's surprise, Nessira and Bane were holding hands while standing on top of a giant lily-pad in the middle of the pond. Just as they were about to kiss to seal their union, Gemstone zapped them.

Bane blinked until he realized what he was about to do and groaned, " _Why does this always happen to me?!_ "

"Okay. Let's get out of here before anything else wrong happens." Nova advised.

 _Unfortunately, the Alphamancers attacked._

In the midst of the battle, Em lost her mech when a spell caused her to trip. She tried her best to protect Gemstone, but soon both of them were cornered by the Alphamancers.

The next thing they knew, her mech saved them. To her surprise, it was driven by both her brothers.

" _Time to rock and roll!_ " Ferrus grinned mischievously.

" _I wanted to say that._ " Halite complained.

Em was really impressed by the way her brothers were beating up the Alphamancers.

 _Now it's her turn to join in the fray._

 _"Battle Unicorn, charge!"_

The unicorn bracer engulfed both Mysticon and Beast in its light;

As Gemstone grew, Em's ponytail grew longer and gained pink highlights. Her hands were covered in pink metal gauntlets while her feet were covered in pink metal boots. To finish off her transformation, a tiara that resembles a unicorn's horn adorns her head.

An Alphamancer zapped the ceiling above Em, _causing a huge piece of it to fall on top of her!_

Everyone gasped in shock…until the giant piece splitted in to two, revealing Em. Armed with a pink lance that resembles a unicorn's horn.

"Nice." Em swung her new weapon around, " _Now who's next?_ "

Em rode on Gemstone as she blocked everyone of the Alphamancers' attacks with the tip of her lance while Gemstone blasted them with her powerful horn.

In the end, the Alphamancers were defeated when they were pushed into cavern where the mood gems were.

* * *

" _Oh. He's so **cute**._" Arkayna cooed along with Zarya as they fussed over Gemstone, who was currently in Kasey's arms, much to the jealousy of their Beasts.

"You'd make a great dad." Em complimented as Gemstone snuggled Kasey's chest.

"Pick-axes first before drills, Pootinkle." Malachite got between her and Kasey, much to his daughter's annoyance.

"I have to admit;" Citrine turned to her sons, "You two were really responsible out there."

Halite grinned, "So does this mean…?"

"No." Citrine disapproved gently, "When you're older."

 _Oh well. A few more years wouldn't hurt._

"One more Beast to go." Nessira announced.

"Piper's home." Zarya exclaimed with excitement, "Gardenavia."

"We can't wait to see the place were you grew up in." Arkayna beamed, "I bet everyone's excited that you're a Mysticon. "

Piper chuckled lightly, "Yeah. _Excited_."

 _If only **they** would be._

* * *

 **I have got to finish this story already! Last chapter!**


	4. Lucifire part 1

**Due to the emotional moments in this story, I'm going to have to split it into parts.**

* * *

"We turn our backs for a minute and you guys let _this_ happen?" Arkayna asked in disbelief.

The boys volunteered to watch over the Baby Beasts for a while while the Mysticons trained. The girls left, only to come back moments later to give their boyfriends a few reminders. That's when they found the boys, all tied up in the most awkward, yet amusing, positions.

"We didn't even blink." Malvaron, who was tied up and was hanging up-side-down from a mast, swore.

"And when did they learn to make a butterfly knot?" Kasey, who was hog-tied, asked.

"And got _these?_ " Kitty pointed to a tank of flying piranhas _below Malvaron_.

"Come on guys." Zarya teased as the others pushed the tank away, "Choko could do a better job than that."

Runeford, Howlette, and Gemstone suddenly appeared as they chased each other.

Suddenly, Gemstone tripped, making him cry. Choko comforted him by bottle-feeding him.

"Don't worry you guys." Arkayna untied Malvaron while Em untied Kasey, "Maybe the last beast would be less of a challenge for you."

"I doubt." Malvaron shot back with a smile.

Citrine approached them, "I'm so glad you let us tag along so that we could see the Elven Brothers Circus together."

"After what you guys did for us back there, you deserve it." Em smiled with excitement, "I can't wait to see it either. I heard it's the biggest show in all the Realm."

When the others began to talk about the circus, Piper knew she wasn't going to finish her work with them around and moved inside a secluded part of the ship's cabin.

After hours of planning, she emerged from the cabin, only to realize that it's already night time.

She turned to the wheel where Kasey was showing the Goldenbraid Family how he steers the ship. The twins tried to steer, but it ended up in an argument that led the ship to tip forward a bit. Em had to take over to regain control of the ship.

Seeing the way Em's parents were complimenting her, Piper felt... _nostalgic._

 _If only_ ** _they_** _were that happy for her even if she trips..._

She heard light snoring, coming from the twin princesses, and their stepbrother. The three were in deep sleep that they didn't even feel each other shifting and hugging each other in their sleep. Nor did they feel their parents affectionately draping a blanket over them.

 _Just like how_ ** _they_** _used to._

"Nessira, Quazala keeps making me lose!"

"Gandobi is being such a baby!"

Piper watched as Quazala and Gandobi bickered like children over a silly video game. Nessira scolded them for being so childish and for almost waking Proxima, who laid asleep on her lap, up.

 _Just like how_ ** _she_** _used to._

The royal siblings were not the only ones snoring.

In one corner, the griffins slept together with the Baby Beasts and Choko all snuggled under their feathers.

Piper watched with a hint of envy as Orion placed a wing on top of Izzy as they slept side-by-side.

 _Someone used to do that to her before._

 _Before she left._

Piper looked down at the book she finished, the one she has spent all day working on. She was the only one who doesn't have a Beast, and hers is hidden somewhere in her old home.

Part of her was excited to finally get a phoenix of her own.

The other part... _was,_ ** _unsure._**

 _She hasn't been at home for a long time. Will everyone even_ ** _remember_** _her? And how worried will they be?_

 _But most importantly; Will things change for the better? Or will it still be the same before she_ ** _ran away?_**

She was worried what her friends would think when they found out once they arrive. She had this urge to fly away on Miss Paisley and tackle the problem herself, but she knew her friends would worry if she does. And the last thing she wants was to make them worry.

 _Just like_ ** _them._**

Piper sadly sighed at the edge of the ship, thinking about the old life she left behind.

 _Well, it won't be long now, and she's going to have to deal with a lot of emotions._

* * *

"How could this have happened?"

One minute they were in the air, the next, the ship suddenly plummeted to the ground.

"It must have been those Alphamancers." Zarya guessed, "One of them must've snuck in last night and messed with the mechanism."

"How soon can you get her up and flying?" Kitty asked her brother as he tinkered with the mechanism.

"Even with magic, we won't make it for half a day." Kasey replied.

"The Alphamancers would have beaten us by then." Nova pointed out.

"Maybe they won't be able to find the egg." Arkayna pointed out, "After all, we managed to found ours fast was because we were linked with the eggs."

The Baby Beasts nodded in confirmation.

"Still; It's best if we got there first before them." Nessira reasoned.

"What we need is a miracle." Em voiced out after tinkering a few parts, "And another ship."

A ship's horn blared from a distance, attracting the group to the source; Up in the sky, just above them was a sky ship in green and gold colors. It's flag has an emblem of a griffin, the symbol of the Royal Family.

" _Oh no._ " Queen Goodfey muttered. _It can't be_ ** _him_** ** _._**

With the use of a rope, someone swung down; An elderly man with short gray hair and a beard.

" _La-La!_ " The man happily embraced Queen Goodfey, much to her discomfort.

" _Dad!_ " The Queen managed a smile, " _What are you doing here?_ "

" _'Dad'?_ " Zarya echoed in surprise before whispering to her sister, " _That guy's our_ ** _grandpa?_** "

Arkayna replied with a nod.

" _You're going to need this._ " Darius handed Zarya a staff, much to her confusion.

Goodfey's father continued to hug her until his eyes fell on Nova Terron.

" _Nova Terron._ " His once excited demeanor turned cold as he released his daughter.

" _Goldius._ " Nova nervously greeted the previous ruler of Drake City, "I know it was wrong for me to separate you granddaughters, but..."

Goldius held his hand up, " _As long as one of them managed to_ ** _knock_** _some sense into you, I_ ** _might_** _overlook your lack of conscience._ "

Nova internally sighed in relief, but if there was thing he knew about Goldius was that he was a royal family man. _And_ ** _no one,_** _messes with his family._

" _And now if you'll excuse me, I have an appointment with my,_ ** _GRANDDAUGHTERS!_** " Goldius' eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.

Zarya was a little crept out by the fact that this, not-so stranger was looking at her. She couldn't believe this man was her grandfather.

 _The again, she was separated from her family... Plus her mom and sister haven't told her about him yet. And probably for_ ** _good_** _reasons._

 _Why does she feel like a lot of signs were pointed at her?_

Zarya felt the air inside of her suddenly squeezed out when she and Arkayna were enveloped in a tight embrace by her grandfather.

" _Wow. You're a hugger._ " Zarya remarked, despite feeling airless.

"Look at you two!" Goldius beamed before pinching Zarya's cheek, "And _you!_ You're just like your father!"

Piper watched as Zarya realized what the staff was for and began to wedge herself out of her grandpa's embrace. Arkayna did the same thing with hers (although initially she was going to hit him in the head since hers was made of wood). Unfortunately, to the twins' surprise, their staffs broke, Zarya's knocking Doug to the ground.

Piper didn't mind the way _they_ would display their affection to her in public. She always loved _their_ hugs. Sometimes, they would hug for hours.

 _If only they would just hug her whenever she makes a mistake. Other than...the other way._

Having enough of the hugging, Zarya suddenly flipped her grandfather over.

She realized her mistake, but was surprise when he just laughed his heart out.

"Well aren't you a feisty one." Goldius remarked as he picked himself up, "That's why you were chosen by the Dragon Disk."

Both Arkayna and Zarya were caught by surprise.

"Oh come on now. Everyone knows." He beamed when he saw Runeford and Howlette and carried them in his arms, " _And these must be my adorable great-grand kids. How long did you make your grandpa cry?_ "

"I got over that a long time ago. _Somehow._ " Darius sniffed, before tearfully embracing Malachite.

* * *

Since the Pink Skulls' ship was still in need of repair, Goldius warmly welcomed everyone on board his ship, _provided_ he could join them on their quest.

As it turned out, after Goldius retired from his duties as king, he realized his royal duties was preventing him from interacting with his subjects and the people of the realm. So he sets off on an epic journey around the realm, helping and making friends with everyone he meets.

As Piper watched and listened to Zarya and Arkayna telling their hyped grandfather the time they purified Necrafa back into Nessira, she couldn't help but feel, _envious._

It got worse when Goldius embraced his granddaughters out of liquid pride.

 _If only_ ** _they_** _were that proud of her._

Laying her back at the edge of the railing, Piper opened her book and sadly sighed at the contents, wondering if everything will go according to plan.

"I'm sure they didn't mean to scare you away." Nessira suddenly approached Piper.

"Am I that obvious?" Piper asked, not taking her eyes off the book.

"You've been quiet lately." Nessira pointed out, "Plus I couldn't sense your _Piper Vibe._ "

"Piper Vibe closed down on account of serious maintenance." Piper spoke back in a melancholy manner.

After a few moments of silence, Nessira turned to the others, "You know you'll have to tell them eventually."

Piper looked at her friends who were laughing when all 3 Baby Beasts tackled Goldius, "Yeah."

" _Gardenavia_ _straight ahead!_ "

Once Piper saw her hometown from afar, she rummaged through her backpack, looking for a way to disguise herself.

"Piper," Nessira lightly scolded her, "you don't need a disguise."

"You're right." Piper stopped, only to untangle her pigtails and mess up her hair before turning to Nessira with a smile.

The Astromancer sighed before reaching out to style Piper's hair, "Fortunately for you, I actually miss doing this."

Nova was busy reading a scroll when he felt the presence of a shadow looming before him. When he looked down, his eyes widened in shock.

" _Necrafa!_ "

He turned around, hesitating to hurt his friend and wondering what he did wrong to corrupt her once more.

As it turned out, it was just Piper. _With her hair styled to look like Necrafa's._

Nova shot Nessira an annoyed look.

"What?" Nessira asked, "I miss that look."

By the time the ship landed, Piper had her hair down in waves with a few strands braided on the front.

When the people saw the royal family, they immediately went to greet them.

" _Pipes?_ "

Piper looked around for the source of the voice. She managed to spot him standing on a branch of a tree before jumping off and landing in front of her, revealing himself to be a red humanoid fox with 4 tails.

"Axis?" Piper exclaimed in surprise upon seeing one of her childhood friends after such a long time.

"Where have you been?" Axis asked with a mix of anger and worry, "Your fol...?!"

Axis was unprepared when Piper suddenly tackled him to the ground.

When Zarya heard a familiar grunt, she found Piper tackling a red humanoid fox on the ground. Piper smiled and waved at Zarya as she held the fox's snout, rendering him unable to talk.

The elf did a few exaggerated hand gestures at the fox. When the fox nodded, she let go and they casually approached her friends like nothing strange happened.

"Axis, girls." Piper introduced Axis to her friends, "Girls, Axis."

"Hey." Axis saluted the girls.

"I take you two know each other." Zarya remarked, raising a suspicious eyebrow at Axis.

A kid suddenly appeared out of nowhere and snatched Zarya's bag. _And Howlette._

Axis stopped her before she could chase the thief, "You really should be more careful, Princess."

Zarya was surprise to find the fox holding her bag. _He didn't even move an inch. Seriously._

Once she got her bag back, Howlette emerged and gave her mommy a lick before growling at Axis.

To Zarya's surprise, Axis managed to calm her down by gently touching her nose, making the wolf cub happily wag her tail.

"Huh. You got some pretty neat tricks, Fox." Zarya remarked, impressed. _Normally, Howlette would greet people with a bark, and/or a bite._

"You might not know this, Princess," Axis puffed up his chest, "but I happen to be the best tamer in the Ring. Well...second to Pipes that is."

Piper _"accidentally"_ stepped on his tail, causing him to cringe in pain.

"First of all; you call my sister _Princess._ " Zarya remarked before turning to Piper, "Second; You were part of the circus?"

" _What? No!_ " Piper grinned sheepishly, "When he meant _Ring,_ he meant the club we were in when we were kids. The gang probably split..."

When she saw that her friends weren't buying it, she sighed in defeat, " _Never mind._ "

"So cool!" Ferrus exclaimed with glee.

"What was it like?" Halite asked with the same expression on his face.

"Whoa there, Kids." Axis turned to Piper, "This flying Foz still owes _us_ an apology. We can't believe you'd just leave without saying good-bye. You know how worried and sick we were? You almost scared Truffle half to death."

"Oh my goblin!" Piper exclaimed, " _I_ ** _killed_** _Truffle?!_ "

"I survived."

Piper turned to find an orange, spiky haired elf wearing black glasses studying her as if he saw her from somewhere before.

" _Pipes?_ " The elf asked in surprise.

Piper blushed when she recognized the elf and began twirling a lock of her hair, " _Truffle... Hey._ "

Piper's friends were curious on why Piper was suddenly acting, _non-Piper_ weird in front of an elf they never met before. Realization struck them, when she began to blush, causing them to giggle in amusement.

Howlette got Piper's attention by whistling to her. Runeford then blew a heart-shape cloud of smoke before she and her fellow beasts batted their eyes teasingly at the elf.

Piper slightly glared at the Baby Beasts before resuming eye-contact with Truffle.

Halite and Ferrus crossed their arms, narrowing their eyes at the male elf.

"Did you do something with your hair?" Truffle asked.

By the way he was smiling while he asked that question, Piper blushed at the compliment.

" _We're still mad at her._ " Axis reminded, snapping his friend back to reality.

"Pipes, you had us worried." Truffle scolded his friend, "You had your mo...?!"

" _I miss you guys too!_ " Piper cut him off with a hug, _before secretly signaling him to_ _keep quiet._

"Oh yeah." Axis crossed his arms, "He gets _hugs_ while I get _tackles."_

Piper and Truffle wordlessly communicated with each through _exaggerated_ gestures, much to the other', except Axis', confusion.

"Okay _stop._ " Zarya ordered, having enough with the charades, "Just spill will ya?"

Piper responded with a gasp.

"That's not what we...!" Before Em could finish, Kasey slightly turned her head around.

 _The Alphamancers._

Runeford, Howlette and Gemstone growled at their mommies' enemies. For as long as they could remember, the Alphamancers have been trying to take them away from their mommies so that they could use them to take over the realm.

 _They will_ ** _never_** _succeed! Not_ ** _before,_** _not_ ** _now,_** _not_ ** _ever._**

The Alphamancers hovered in the air attacking everything and everyone in sight. Piper knew what this means as she and her friends nodded to each other.

 _It's magic hour._

When the girls transformed into their Mysticon forms, the crowd erupted in cheers.

"Wow." Axis remarked upon seeing Piper as Mysticon Striker, " _She looks better than your poster._ "

Piper looked away, blushing while Truffle elbowed Axis.

The Mysticons jumped out of the way just as the Alphamancers blasted them.

As she jumped, Em failed to notice the Alphamancer heading in her direction, allowing the Alphamancer to grab Gemstone in the process.

Unfortunately for the Alphamancer, Gemstone zapped his eyes with his horn, blinding him and causing him to collapse on the ground.

He managed to stand up and regain his sight. That's when he felt someone tapping him from behind.

"Hi." Citrine waved, before knocking the Alphamancer down with a frying pan. Gemstone jumped in her arms as she turned to the cart owner, "I'll take it."

"Seriously! Get your own dragon!" Arkayna taunted Tazma as they attempted to blast one another, "Or better yet, a _gumlump!_ "

"Very funny!" Tazma remarked sarcastically.

She managed to summon three shadow monsters behind Arkayna; One managed to subdue her in its arms. Another grabbed her staff. The last shadow monster grabbed the bag Runeford was in.

Runeford blew fire at the shadow monster but missed. Luckily for him, Gawayne disintegrated the monster with a flash from his spellpad while Goldius and Darius freed Arkayna from the remaining two.

Two Alphamancers dodged the arrows Zarya was shooting. They both attacked the Ranger at the same time, the same time her mother stood before her armed with a shield, deflecting it back to the Alphamancers.

"I'm surprised there's a stall for these in here." The queen remarked. Choko, who was perched on her shoulder, chirped in agreement.

Another Alphamancer was about to strike them from behind. Zarya sensed his presence and turned around, ready to shoot his arrow at him.

To her surprise, Axis suddenly leaps from out of nowhere and knocked the Alphamancer to the ground.

More Alphamancers hovered before them, ready to trap them in a magical cage.

"You might want to cover your ears, your highnesses." Axis advised.

The two royals and the Foz were confused, but did as he was told.

They soon found out _why._

Axis gave out a loud holler. The Alphamancers, and everyone else within the vicinity, had to cover their ears to block the shattering cry.

Finally, the fox stopped. He crosses his arms and smiles mischievously as if something was about to happen.

A dark shadow loomed before the Alphamancers. They look up, only to cry in shock at the swarm of flying monkeys heading straight for them.

Their enemies were too shocked to even look away from the... _beat-up._

"I'm impressed." Zarya remarked.

" _I'm suspicious!_ " Darius called out but was ignored. He was just clashing with an Alphamancer when he spotted one of his stepdaughters smiling at Axis.

"Grease, no." Axis scolded one of the flying monkeys who was about to take off with the queen's tiara.

Nova and Nessira were protecting a group of civilians from the Alphamancers. Nessira failed to sense the master of the Alphamancers hovering behind her, allowing him a chance to blast her with his magic.

He failed as Bane protected Nessira by deflecting the attack with his sword.

" _When will you realize your actions are_ ** _destroying the realm?!_** " Nova exclaimed.

" ** _I am PROTECTING the realm!_** " Alpha Galaga bellowed, " _That phoenix belongs to_ ** _me._** _Not that_ ** _childish excuse of a Striker._** "

He blasted the two Astromancers again, but they were pushed away by Piper.

" _You keep your_ ** _filthy_** _hands off_ ** _my_** _phoenix._ " The Striker spoke rather darkly, much to the shock of her teammates and childhood friends.

" _Pipes?_ " Truffle never saw his friend like _this_ before. And he believes he knows _why._

Piper furiously threw two of her hoops at Alpha Galaga. The Alphamancer dodged them with ease.

But he was unprepared for the third hoop that the Striker threw at him with more force than the previous two.

Once Piper regained back her hoops, she flew on top of Miss Paisley and attacked the Alphamancers furiously with her hoops.

The Astromancers counterattacked with their spells, but Piper managed to dodge them with ease, and a few flips.

Just as she was about to throw her hoops at the enemies once more...

 ** _"Pyperia Ashryn Elvanestri!"_**

Piper lost her balance and began to fall several feet to the ground.

Lucky for her, she was caught by Orion who was also carrying Bane and Nessira on his back.

" _Retreat!_ " Alpha Galaga commanded and the Alphamancers disappeared in a flash of light.

Nessira helped Piper get off Orion. Once the elf was on the ground, she was suddenly embraced by a couple; An elf who wore a circus ring-master's attire, and his wife.

 _"Oh my baby!"_

 _"You had us worried!"_

 _"Why did you go?"_

 _"What were you thinking?!"_

 _Something inside Piper snapped._

 _"What were you thinking?!"_

Everyone was caught by complete shock when Piper pushed the elf couple away. She _glared_ at them for a few seconds before hopping on Miss Paisley and flew to, who-knows-where.

As the elf couple stared in disbelief at the direction Piper went, they are approached by Zarya.

"I'm guessing you're her parents."


	5. Lucifire part 2

_Well... at least they now know Piper_ _ **still**_ _has a family._

 _Hey don't look at them. Whenever they mentioned "family", the elf would stay silent, and sometimes gaze at the_ _ **sky.**_

Mr. Alcove and Mrs. Wistermina Elvanestri were nice elves.

But they also sounded _worrisome._

As it turns out they were even _more_ over-protective than Mrs. Goldenbraid;

At such a young age, Piper was always the... _clumsiest_ among her and her four other siblings. She would often get herself, and others, into trouble. Because of that, her parents decided she wasn't ready to take part in the family business; The Elven Brothers Circus.

That was a low blow on Piper.

She _loves_ her family's circus.

Ever since she was little she always wanted to swing on the trapeze, tame the flying monkeys, and do many other crazy, exciting things. She dreams of the day she would perform an act so grand, the crowd would smile non-stop for a week, unable to forget the unforgettable sight they had just witnessed.

 _Imagine her sad, disappointed face when her parents broke the news to her._

She eventually understood her parents' intentions and just watched the show from a _safe_ distance. This made her parents happy.

 _Then that day came..._

Whenever one of the animals got wild, or one of the performers got injured,a masked elf would suddenly appear out of nowhere and save the day, even putting an impressive show for the crowd.

The Elvanestris' wish to see the true face of this mysterious performer came true... _in the_ _ **worst**_ _possible way._

And that's how Piper Willowbrook ran away to the Undercity.

And now here they are; The Mysticons aiding the Elvanestris, including Piper's two brothers and two sisters, in searching for their daughter, following a humanoid fox who managed to catch a whiff of her scent.

"She stills smells like firecrackers and wildflowers." Axis remarked as he continues to sniff the ground, "With a hint of, extra fire power. And... _Feathers?_ "

Axis shrugged it off as he continued sniffing for Piper.

"So Truffle," Arkayna grinned widely, and so did Zarya, Em, and their beasts, "you and Piper must be really _close_ friends."

"Well we have known each other since we were kids." Truffle replied as he pushed his glasses up.

" _Since you were kids._ " Zarya echoed teasingly while Em giggled.

"You and Axis seam to get along." Truffle pointed out.

Zarya looked away, " _Whaaaat?_ He's a total show-off. Look at him leading the way with that cute nose of his."

" _Cute,_ huh?" Truffle echoed, earning more giggles from Arkayna and Em. And the babies.

Zarya decided it was time to change the _subject,_ "So you're part of the circus too?"

"Sort off." The elf shrugged, "Someone has to take care of the animals. Even the _feisty_ ones."

The group kept following Axis until they came across a grove of trees.

"I know this place." Truffle rushed ahead of the others and stopped when he found the tree Piper was on along with Miss Paisley.

" _Pyperia!_ " Wistermina cried upon seeing her daughter.

Truffle stopped her from going to her daughter, "No offense Ringmistress, but I think you need to calm down for a moment before you approach Pipes."

"Truffle, we haven't seen Pipes for years." Alcove reasoned, "She's scared half to death."

"I wouldn't say that..." Zarya tried to cut in.

"Yes. But maybe you could be more, _gentle?_ " Truffle reasoned, "So that she won't run off again?"

The Elvanestris just stared at him in confusion.

He sighs, "Just let me get her down."

* * *

 _Even after all these years, her parents are still the same._

After what she did, even after she came back, she doubts her parents would let her join the family circus. Even after she did those amazing tricks and stunts when she was masquerading as the masked performer.

She looked at her book, wondering if they'll even accept...

"Now that's planning."

Piper transformed into her Striker form and grabbed her would-be attacker by the collar.

"Oh my goblin! I'm _so_ sorry!" Piper apologized as she let go of Truffle and transformed back into her civilian form.

Truffle picked up the book she dropped and flipped through its pages, "Wow. You're really serious about your mission."

"How did you guys found me?" Piper asked.

"Your scent never changed." Truffle replied, "Plus this is where you usually run off to every time you want to get away from you-know-who's. Except for... _last time._ "

Piper stared glumly at the ground as if she was wondering if she should jump or not.

"Look;" Truffle closed the book, "They missed you. They won't admit it, but they're happy that you're Mysticon Striker."

Piper didn't leave her sight off the ground, "Was that _after,_ or _before_ they found out?"

Truffle knew the answer to that question. Instead, he replied, "Just, come down will you? You have 20 seconds before they _hyperventilate._ If it makes you feel any better; I think you're a great hero."

Piper gave him a small smile before jumping off the branch and landing on top of Miss Paisley. They waited until Truffle joined them and landed in front of the search party.

Most importantly, Piper's parents.

"Piper! You know it's not safe to..." Wistermina stopped when she noticed the cold look her daughter was giving her.

She and her husband weren't the only ones intimidated. The other Mysticons never saw their happy and spirited teammate like this before.

 _Their separation must have really been intense._

With a heavy sigh, Piper finally addressed her parents ans siblings, "Mom. Dad. Harmonia. Soprano. Reed. Fluentia."

After her siblings awkwardly waved at her, she continues, "I'm...sorry I left."

"Sweetie," Wistermina spoke gently, "we just wanted to keep you safe."

"Yeah." Piper remarked sarcastically, "So I'm not allowed to play with the tiger-foxes, to swing on the trapeze, eat popcorn, or even say _hi_ to my friends. _My_ _ **friends.**_ _And you let_ _ **them**_ _in the family circus._ "

Alcove wanted to tell his daughter that he was proud of her. That he was happy that she was a Mysticon.

Instead,

"You shouldn't have _scared_ us like that." Alcove scolded, "We were going to let you join, _eventually_."

" _When,_ Dad?" Piper asked, " _When? When I'm a_ _ **thousand**_ _years old?_ Ever since I left, I've been through some crazy stuff, and still _survived;_ I rode a griffin, I turned into a mermaid, I battled stargoyles, and kicked skeleton butt! No offense, Reggie."

The former skeleton shrugged.

"Point is;" Piper continued, "I know you guys are worried because you _love_ me, but I'm not a baby anymore. And if you guys watched me in action on our next mission, you won't have to worry about me ever again."

The Elvanestris looked at each other, unsure and worried. But when they saw their youngest daughter's big, pleading eyes, they gave her their (reluctant) approval by slightly nodding their heads.

Piper squealed in delight as she tightly embraced her parents, " _I promise to be the best mommy ever!_ "

The Elvanestris eyes widened in shock.

 _ **"WHAAAAAAT?!"**_

" _You'll get used to it._ " Darius and Malachite simultaneously spoke.

 _Yeah. They still haven't gotten over theirs. But they did stop hugging each other with tears in their eyes._

 _Now they just cry internally._

* * *

After being scolded by her friends for misleading them into thinking her family was, _gone_ , Piper led the group to wherever the phoenix egg was hidden. The more they travelled, the more they marveled at the abundance of nature around them;

The mighty towering trees, the sweet melody of the songbirds, the alluring smell of Love's Breaths...

The group had to ride the griffins and fly/levitate away from the Love's Breaths.

Piper pouted. Even if she was immune to the flowers, she really wished she could join her friends up there in the sky. But _no. Griffin feathers are very_ _ **"itchy"**_ _and full of_ _ **"germs".**_

At least she got to enjoy nature walking alongside her family.

 _Now if only they'd just let her pick one, small,_ _ **harmless**_ _flower..._

Even from above, Zarya could see her friend's irritation. And she never saw Piper _that_ irritated before. _And did they just push her away from a daffodil like it was about to turn into a monster?_

Once they were sure they were _far away_ from the Love's Breaths, (actually, Gandobi and Quazala got infected somehow, but they managed to snap them out of it) the group rejoined the Elvenastris.

The closer they got to the egg, the more they realized that Piper wasn't _over-exaggerating_ when she said her parents were _over-protective;_

When the group stopped by a lake to refresh themselves, Proxima offered some lake water for Piper to drink, only for Wistermina to slap it out of her hands and gave Piper _safe, clean,_ bottled water.

The group stopped again under a tree. Choko climbed a tree to pick one of its fruits and tossed it to Piper. Alcove caught it instead and threw it away because of the _germs._

When the group had to cross a narrow wooden bridge, Alcove had to carry Piper on his back while Wistermina followed them from behind to prevent her from falling.

When Piper came across a baby bird that fell from her nest, she tried to help it, but her parents pushed her away from the _wild animal._ Doug offered to help her instead, after which Wistermina forced him to _properly_ wash and _sanitize_ his hands.

Feeling bored, the baby Beasts decided to play a game of tag by jumping on the group's heads. Everyone found this amusing. But when Gemstone was about to jump on Piper's head, her parents pulled her out of the way. Gemstone would have crashed on a rock if Bane hadn't save him on time.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I owe Piper an apology." Zarya remarked as the Elvanestris kept over-protecting Piper.

Sure she can be a _little bit_ clueless and clumsy now and then, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know how to protect herself.

Arkayna suddenly gasped, " _Oh my goblin!_ "

"The Alphamancers?" Em made a fighting stance.

"Runey is about to say his first word!" Arkayna excitedly corrected, holding her baby dragon up.

Everyone crowded around Runeford, spellpads ready to record the momentous moment.

Runeford scrunches up his face... Then blows large green flames on everyone.

Piper barely had the time to look back because her parents had pinned her down to the ground for her own safety.

Runeford stopped. The smoke cleared and the dust settled, revealing almost everyone with soot on their faces and their disarrayed hairs blown backwards.

"Maybe next time." Arkayna stated while Choko coughed out a puff of smoke.

Alcove approached Arkayna, "With all due respect your highness; _**What were you thinking raising that BEAST?!**_ "

Runeford's eyes began to tear up at the harsh words.

"Dad!" Piper scolded.

" _Our daughter would have been incinerated because of that_ _ **MONSTER!**_ " Wistermina turned to her daughter, "Piper, you can't be seriously thinking about taking care of these, _**things**_. They will _**kill**_ you!"

At that moment, Runeford began to cry as Arkayna attempted to calm him down.

"Mom! He's just a _baby!_ " Piper snapped back, "When I was a baby, did you just stand around while everyone called me a _monster?!_ "

"You're not a _monster,_ you're our _daughter._ " Alcove grabbed Piper's hand, "We're taking you home."

He began to leave, but found himself unable to move even farther even if he took a step further.

He turned around, only to find Piper staring at the opposite direction as if she was in a trance. She let go and began heading to the opposite direction, forcing the others to follow her, much to her family's dismay.

"Never seen her this upset before?" Axis asked Zarya.

"It's surprising, sad, and _creepy._ " Zarya remarked.

"Yeah. That's how parents are." Axis spoke back, "Well... _Some_ parents. Don't tell anyone this, but, (whispers) _I'm glad she ran away._ "

" _What?_ " Zarya whispered back with a glare. Howlette mirrored her expression by growling at the fox.

" _Hey don't get me wrong._ " Axis holds his hands up in innocence, " _I got mad when she left. I said if she ever comes home, I'd let her sleep with the monkeys. Not that it would help. Those guys love her. Then I realized; She needed to be free. She needed, some sort of adventure in her life. One more day outside the circus and she'd... you know._ "

He and Zarya turned to the Elvanestri couple who repeatedly called for their daughter to know avail.

" _Yeah. I know what you mean._ " Zarya whispered back, " _She's lucky she wasn't taken away from her family._ "

Piper finally snapped out of her trance and found herself in a field full of many kinds of beautiful flowers.

 _Aw Yuna. That was sweet of her to leave an unhatched phoenix in a beautiful hiding spot._

Piper happily ran and skipped her way through the flower field, putting aside her irritations. She suddenly stopped, spotting a large, undeveloped, red, orange, and yellow bud in the middle of the field.

The bud was larger than any of the other flowers. _The perfect hiding spot for an egg._

The group managed to find Piper heading for the large bud in the middle.

As soon as the Striker was an inch away from the bud, the flowers around the bud began to spread glowing pollen.

The pollen landed on the bud, causing it to bloom, _revealing,_ _ **the phoenix egg.**_

A cornucopia of emotions was swirling inside of Piper; Glee, pride, hope, nervousness, eagerness, etc.

 _She just couldn't wait to meet her Lucifire!_

She reached a hand towards the egg... _only to be blasted down._

" _Congratulations, Mysticon Striker!_ " Tazma mocked as she grabbed the egg.

The Baby Beasts growled at her as their mommies transformed and they transformed into their adult Mystical Beast forms.

Piper knew she had to help. What kind of mommy would she be otherwise?

So she transformed into her Mysticon form, and beat down any Alphamancer with her hoops, unmindful of her worried parents.

While her fellow Alphamancers were keeping the Mysticons at bay, Tazma plans to leave with the phoenix egg, but was knocked down by all 3 Striker hoops, making her release the egg which landed in Piper's arms.

" _It's okay Lucifire._ " She cooed as she affectionately embraced the egg, " _Mommy's here._ "

More Alphamancers attacked her, but were stopped by her fellow Mysticons and their Beasts.

The Alphamancers tried to attack once again, but they were intimidated by the piercing glares of the Mystical Beasts.

They had no choice but to summon a smoke screen in order to escape.

When the smoke dispersed, the Mysticons no longer saw a single hair of their enemies.

" _That's right!_ " Piper mocked _, "That'll teach you not to mess with a mommy and her...?!_ "

To her complete shock and horror, _she was no longer holding her phoenix egg._


	6. Lucifire part 3

" _When are my stepsisters coming back?_ " Gawayne groaned. He was on all fours and was being ridden by the Baby Beasts.

After seeing Piper so dismayed over her failure to protect her egg, the other 3 Mysticons left their Beasts in the care of their family, friends, and the Astromancers while they consoled their friend.

The Baby Beasts didn't mind. They were upset they lost one of their own too. Gawayne managed to cheer them up by letting them ride on his back, _even though he wasn't liking it one bit._

"And aren't _you_ already a _unicorn?_ " He asked Gemstone.

In retaliation, the unicorn zapped him, forcing him to keep up with the act.

"I still don't understand." Nova Terron mused, remembering how Piper lost the egg, "This may seem exaggerated, but if I were Alpha Galaga,"

"Fortunately you're _not._ " Nessira interrupted.

"I would have _recklessly_ announced my triumph for _all_ to hear." Nova finished.

"True." Malvaron agreed, "And yet he _didn't._ "

"Maybe he was smart enough not to do it." Doug advised, making everyone nod in agreement.

Still; How did the Alphamancers managed to steal the phoenix egg from right under the Striker's nose? She would have noticed them even through the smoke.

Then again; Alpha Galaga did managed to corrupt one of his talented students without anyone suspecting him for a thousand years.

Kitty noticed Howlette sneaking towards a cotton candy cart and grabbed her before she could go any further, "Oh no. We're still healing from the last sugar rush."

"I want to be a gummy-goyle next time." Gandobi said, earning confused looks from the others, "Last time I was turned into a fire-mint. _No one_ likes fire-mints."

Runeford and Gemstone jumped off Gawayne and ran off, Howlette joined them moments later.

Not wanting to feel the wrath of their mommies, Gawayne, Halite and Ferrus chased after them. The others soon follow.

They followed them throughout the entire circus; The Merry-Go-Round, Hovering Bumper Carts, the Petting Zoo, and even the Haunted Roller Coaster.

 _Never again shall they ride the Roller Coaster._

When the Roller Coaster stopped, the Baby Beasts happily jumped off the ride while their uncles got off with traumatized faces and their hairs up in frazzles.

Just as the Baby Beasts could get into the circus tent, they were grabbed by Malachite, Goldius, and Queen Goodfey.

"Okay. You three need a time out." Queen Goodfey scolded.

 _"We have to give it back."_

 _"But dad said she'll get hurt."_

Queen Goodfey stopped. _That sounded like Piper's siblings._

 _"We shouldn't have took it away from her. It's just so wrong._ "

 _Took?_ The queen knows it was wrong for her to spy, but it almost sounded like they were hiding something from their sister.

Peering through a small gap of the tent, she found all four of Piper's siblings in a silent conversation. She was soon joined by her family and the rest of the group as they listened in on the conversation.

Piper's eldest sister, Harmonia, opened her backpack... _and brought out the phoenix egg._

The Baby Beasts growled but were silenced by giving them baby bottles to suck on.

The group couldn't believe their eyes; _The Alphamancers didn't take Piper's egg._ _ **Her FAMILY did.**_

 _Okay that's just being_ _ **OVER**_ _-overprotective._

"You guys saw what she did back there." Harmonia reminded.

"Yeah. But," Reed argued.

"She was so brave out there." Soprano interjected, "None of them even stood a chance against her. Plus you guys saw how _sad_ she was."

Fluentia looked down with guilt, " _She didn't even say 'hi' to the tiger-foxes._ "

Nova Terron nodded. _They know what they have to do._

Harmonia turned around, only to find her parents standing before her.

" _Harmonia hide that thing before your sister sees it._ " Wistermina whispered frantically to her daughter.

"Mom! This has to stop." Harmonia protested, "Watching Pipes' back was one thing. But _stealing_ from her?"

"You saw how dangerous those things were." Alcove reminded before turning to the phoenix egg, "If that hatches, it could eat your sister!"

"Dad, you're over-reacting." Fluentia tried to reason, "Pipes saved us from those evil mages. She saved a lot of people."

"And ends up _hurting herself!_ " Alcove exclaimed, "Why did she have to be a Mysticon?!"

"You're saying like its a bad thing." Reed protested, "Just like the time you didn't let her join the circus just because she _tripped._ "

"We did it to _protect_ her." Wistermina emphasized, "She was, fine with that."

"And what makes you think she'll stay after she failed protecting this egg?" Harmonia asked sharply, "Just look at her."

" _And you think it's better if she took care of that_ _ **beast?!**_ " Alcove snapped rather sharply, " _I know what's good for my daughter, just as I know what's good for my family! She'll forget why she bothered with that_ _ **thing**_ _and stay safe like the good elf we want her to be!_ "

Everyone remained shocked and silent at Alcove's outburst.

 _What kind of father would plan that kind of life for his children?_

Soprano looked away from his father in disgust. He remembered how _happy_ Piper was when she swung on the trapeze in disguise, and tamed the tiger-foxes, and fought the evil mages. The thrill made her _happy._

 _Not like the many times she was forced to stay away from the circus for her own_ _ **"safety".**_

 _And now she's heartbroken. All because they took the one thing that she swore to take care of. The one thing that would make her happy._

Soprano looked his siblings in the eyes and wordlessly agreed.

" _We're taking_ _ **her**_ _back to our sister._ " Harmonia spoke coldly.

Before their parents could protest, the phoenix egg began to glow...

* * *

 _"One day, you'll find someone who will love you will all their heart."_

 _Why couldn't_ _ **she?**_ _Why did she have to leave her all alone?_

 _So many dreams, what could have been happy moments,_ _ **shattered.**_ _All because they were those who doubt her abilities._

 _How long has she lived, alone, in the darkness?_

 _Is this her fate?_

 _..._

 _Wait. She senses a_ _ **familiar**_ _presence._

 _Could it be...? Has she came back?_

 _"Lucifire..."_

 _Lucifire?_

 _Was_ _ **she**_ _, talking to her? Did she call her "_ _ **Lucifire**_ _"? Was that going to be her new name?_

 _ **She loves it!**_

 _ **She loves her!**_

 _She sounds different. Maybe this was a different being._

 _What does it matter? She's finally going to have a_ _ **mommy!**_

 _She can tell that mommy is going to_ _ **love**_ _her. She can_ _ **feel**_ _it._

 _All that love... is setting her_ _ **FREE!**_

* * *

The dark shell that hid Lucifire away finally broke, freeing her into the world of light.

Six pairs of eyes stared at her in complete shock.

 _But where was her mommy?_

 _"Keep that thing away from your sister."_

 _What?_

The 6 creatures were arguing with each other. _They want to take her away from her mommy._

Lucifire flew away. _She needed to find her mommy!_

She flapped her wings, but they were so weak, they could only take her a few feet before she crashed on the ground, in front of towering creatures.

"Your highnesses!" Alcove franticly bowed before the royal family, "We... _found_ the phoenix."

"Excellent." Nessira picked Lucifire up, "We can give her back to Piper."

"That's not necessary. We...!" Wistermina tried to take Lucifire away from the Astromancer, but the phoenix flapped her wings and screeched at the elf in defiance before jumping on Gemstone's back.

The four Beasts disappeared into the crowd, determined to find their mommies and show them the good news.

The Elvanestri couple chased after them, but were stopped by Nova Terron who trapped them and levitated them in a golden energy field.

"I know you were just trying to protect your daughter, but you have gone _too far!_ " Nova scolded, "And I should know."

"Piper _will_ _ **understand.**_ " Wistermina shot back, " _She always will!_ "

* * *

 _Yeah, she didn't take it well._

When Piper found out her own family captured _her_ phoenix, she finally let out her frustrations on them, _before suddenly transforming into a half-elf, half-phoenix hybrid!_

The Mysticons had no choice but to fight their friend. _Which, unfortunately... led to_ _ **this...**_

"When we said they should _get along, we don't mean_ _ **this!**_ " Darius protested.

Piper trapped everyone, except the Alphamancers, in a giant pink bubble. The other two who weren't trap inside were Gawayne and Arkayna.

Unfortunately for everyone, Piper sprayed them both with _Love's Breath._

"Gawayne, whatever you're thinking, _I_ _ **object!**_ " Zarya was trapped inside a separate bubble with Em. _And she is_ _ **not**_ _liking the way Gawayne was leading her sister in the waltz._

If only they could break free from the bubbles, but they could only be popped from the _outside._

Runeford called for his mommy once again since he was trapped inside the bubble, but the Dragon Mage just smiled and waved at him before resuming her dance with Gawayne.

Having failed once again, Runeford wept miserably, crying out for his mommy.

"It's okay, Runey." Malvaron petted the dragon in order to calm him down, " _Mommy's just..._ "

Malvaron joined Runeford's misery as they wept upon witnessing the _proposal_ in front of them.

" _I object, I object, I object!_ " Goldius slammed his head repeatedly against the bubble, " _You two_ _ **hate**_ _each other. You even wrote a book on why you hate each other!_ "

To prove his point, he brought out a book titled " _Royal Pains_ ". Sure enough, it was written by Arkayna and Gawayne.

Kitty looked up from reading her copy, "It's a best-seller."

" _Why?_ " Fluentia faced her parents with sadness and disappointment in her eyes, " _Why couldn't you just let her be happy? Why couldn't you let her have fun like the rest of us? Why?!_ "

Before either Alcove or Wistermina could reply, Reed asked, "Why couldn't you guys just let go of that one accident? After that, Pipes was fine. She did many _amazing_ things and saved _us_ many times. Even if she did get hurt, she always smiled the pain away. She'd even make a great mother. _But you guys_ _ **had**_ _to be so_ _ **negative! Why?!**_ "

Alcove and Wistermina were speechless. Their children never spoke to them like this before.

All they wanted was to protect Piper. They didn't meant to... _hurt_ her, resulting her to get mutated.

 _Wait. It's not their fault. The phoenix was the one who turned her into a_ _ **monster.**_

"We were just trying to protect your sister!" Alcove defended.

" _Oh well congratulations!_ " Nova Terron remarked sarcastically, " _Thanks to your_ _ **'reason',**_ _and_ _ **'understanding'**_ _, your daughter is now running wild and being hunted down by the Alphamancers. You know what? You were_ _ **right;**_ _If she had just_ _ **listened**_ _to you, she_ _ **probably**_ _wouldn't have ended up_ _ **heartbroken.**_ _Who cares what the child thinks? The parents are_ _ **always right. Even after they turn one of their own into a creature of pure destruction!**_ "

Everyone backed away from Nova's outburst.

After a moment of heavy breathing, the Astromancer managed to calm down, "The last thing you want, was to be the one who _**break**_ them."

Alcove and Wistermina found themselves remembering Piper's sad face; Whenever she was forbidden from the circus tent, whenever she was told not to touch any animal, whenever she was being told what she wasn't suppose to eat, whenever... _they,_ keep telling her to stay, _safe_...

 _She never smiled. When they were trying to show her that they_ _ **care...**_

Everyone turned to the Elvanestris that they didn't notice Choko and the flying monkeys breaking them free from the bubbles.

"We understand what you're going through." Citrine empathized, "When I found out Emerald was a Mysticon, the first thing I wanted to do was take her home and lock her up in her room until she reached adulthood."

" _Mom!_ " Em protested.

However, she didn't have time to complain further because she and Zarya were finally freed from their bubble and rushed off to stop Arkayna from making the _biggest mistake_ of her life.

"But then I realized;" Citrine went on, unaware of the battle behind her, "Em isn't as helpless as I thought she was. She helped a lot of people. Even us. And I was so proud of what my little dwarf turned into."

 _Proud._ The Elvanestris were proud of Piper too when she made those amazing feats.

Still...

"For as long as I remembered," Queen Goodfey joined in, "I've been telling Arkayna stories about the Mysticons in order to prepare her for the day she becomes queen. I never thought I'd witnessed the day she would become the new Dragon Mage. And in addition to that, I found out I had _another daughter. Who was taken away from me by the orders of a_ _ **deranged madman!**_ "

Nova bowed his head in shame at the glare of the queen while Nessira patted him on the back.

She managed to regain her composure and continued, while shielding herself from a wayward attack, "And she became the new Ranger. I was so proud for both of them."

"But... Aren't you worried that they'll get hurt?" Wistermina asked, "Or _worse?_ "

"Of course we do. We always... _Don't go easy on them!_ " Darius briefly turns to Zarya before turning back to the Elvanestris, "Worry."

"But we should also know when _not_ to worry." Malachite added, ducking to avoid another attack.

This confused the Elvanestris. _How can they not worry?_

"Yes. Our daughters can get themselves into danger," Darius emphasized, while pushing Doug away from being hit by a lightning arrow, "and there are times we want to stop them."

Malachite pushed him down to avoid another attack before pulling him back up, "But how would that help anyone else? Who would save the realm?"

"And yes there are others who could do their job." Citrine continued, "But if there's no one else left and they're the only ones who could do it, should we stop them from doing what's right, and let others get harmed?"

The Elvanestris didn't know how to react to that. _Would stopping Piper from doing her dangerous job just to keep her safe lead to many lives getting hurt?_

Goldius stepped in, "As parents, it is our duty to watch over our children, even if they have matured. _In some ways._ It is also our duty to respect their _boundaries._ Sometimes we have to worry, and sometimes we have to let them have their own freedom."

He places his hand on Queen Goodfey's shoulder, "And sometimes, whether they need or don't need us the most, we have to aide them in their battles."

The queen smiled at her father.

 _"Mom!"_

The queen frowns, " _Just like_ _ **now.**_ "

With their mighty battle cries, the parents, including Goldius, charged to aid their children in battle. _And to stop the worst wedding of the century._

That left Piper's parents to ponder on their words.

"If it makes you better Mr. and Mrs. Elvanestri," Doug offered, "Piper's really good in helping people. She even helped bring the royal family back together."

That was all he could say, as Malvaron pulled him away to help the parents.

Miss Paisley approached the Elvanestris and stopped at a _safe_ distance in front of them. She was holding a book in her beak which she gave to Truffle, who in return, gave it to Alcove.

As it turns out, the book was actually a scrapbook which Piper lovingly dedicated to her phoenix, Lucifire.

The elf siblings approached their parents just as Alcove flipped through the scrapbook, revealing detailed plans like how to care for the phoenix, what the phoenix can and can't eat, how to groom the phoenix, etc.

There was even a chapter on what to name the phoenix.

It was so... _planned out. So serious._

 _They didn't think Piper was this serious._

They flipped through more pages until they stopped at one that really caught their attention.

It was a drawing of _them. Of the whole family._

 _Including the phoenix._

 _She wanted her to be a part of the family._

Nova sadly approached the Elvanestris, " _The Original Striker couldn't take care of her... Because_ _ **we**_ _took away someone dear to her. And all because of our pride, and selfishness._ "

Alcove and Wistermina looked at the drawing one more time.

 _All these times... All their daughter ever wanted..._

 _ **What have they done...?**_

Alcove and Wistermina looked up with determination in their eyes.

 _"Let's go get your sister back."_

* * *

 _When was the last time they rode a griffin?_

Alcove and Wistermina screamed as Miss Paisley flew them around Gardenavia in search of their daughter.

 _They're starting to regret the times they deny Piper of riding an animal._

They finally found her, burning everything in sight. The Mysticons tried to snap her out of it, but she managed to beat everyone of them with brute, fiery force.

" _Piper? Sweetie?_ " Wistermina called to her daughter in an attempt to reach out to her, " _Aren't you worried you might catch a burn?_ "

Piper responded by trying to incinerate them.

Lucky for them, Miss Paisley flew out of the way.

Truffle, who was riding on Archer, approached them, "Try not to sound too, _parently._ You know..."

" _We're trying!_ " Alcove complained as they dodged another fire blast.

Piper stopped attacking them. But that was because she had to deal with the Alphamancers who were trying to take Lucifire away from her.

At first, she managed to gain the upper hand with her newly-acquired fiery abilities.

 _But then Alpha Galaga attacked her from behind..._

Lucifire found herself separated from her mommy due to a powerful force. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in Wistermina's hands, and glared at her mommy's so-called _"loving family"._

Alcove and Wistermina tensed when they found themselves surrounded by the Alphamancers.

"Hand over the phoenix." Alpha Galaga demanded. When the Elvanestris hesitated, "It's better this way. That elf was unworthy to bear such a powerful creature. She was _weak._ "

...?!

 _Something inside the Elvanestris_ _ **snapped**_ _..._

Alcove glared at the Alphamancer, " _Our daughter... Is the_ _ **greatest, fearless, and most talented Mysticon in the whole Realm!**_ "

" _ **And she's going to raise this little one with the greatest love she could ever give!**_ " Wistermina added, holding Lucifire tightly in her arms.

Something felt _different_ with her mommy's parents.

They suddenly feel so... _warm._

The last thing Piper remembered before she blacked out was her parents. Her _ungrateful, heartless_ parents.

 _They were so unfair! How could they just take Lucifire away from her just because they_ _ **think**_ _she was dangerous?_

When she opened her eyes, she was high up in the air and was being restrained by two Alphamancers.

She managed to push them off using her wings...

 _Wings?! And she's still flying?!_

Sure enough, two large red wings with plumage of orange, yellow and gold emerged from her back. In addition, her hair was combed up and were highlighted with yellow streaks on the tips, making it resemble flames. She was also wearing orange-feathered gloves with retractable daggers on the back.

 _"Pyperia!_ "

She looked down, only to catch Lucifire in her arms and her parents giving her hand signals. _Encouraging_ hand signals.

She was so overwhelmed by her parents' encouragement that she allowed an Alphamancer to strike her from behind, causing her to plummet to the ground.

Luckily...

"Soprano?" Piper was surprised to find herself being caught by her siblings.

"Go get them, Sis." Soprano grinned before launching her back to the sky.

Piper was moved to tears. Never has she felt so much _support,_ and _love_ from her family before.

 _It just makes her want to...!_

 _"Fly Lucifire,_ _ **FLY!**_ _"_

Lucifire flew inside the phoenix-shaped magical energy.

Moments later, the magical energy exploded into sparkles, revealing a large, radiant phoenix in the sky.

Axis smirked while everyone else marveled at the sight before them, " _Show off._ "

" _Bring down that Mysticon and bring me that phoenix!_ " Alpha Galaga demanded.

The Alphamancers sent a barrage of magical nets at the Striker. Though it may look like they were about to capture her and the phoenix, Piper threw multiple fiery daggers, slicing the nets, and pinning some of the Alphamancers everywhere.

" _Pipes!_ " Alcove called, " _You can do better than that!_ "

 _Great griffins that felt_ _ **good!**_

In the end, the Alphamancers couldn't handle the combined powers of the Mysticons and all 4 Mystical Beasts. _But one day..._

" _Who's my Lucifire? You are!_ " Piper nuzzled her phoenix' beak with her nose.

"I'm sorry we got too over-protective, Pipes." Alcove apologized.

"I'm just happy Lucifire is finally part of the family!" Piper beamed, " _Feeding Time!_ "

The Elvanestris had to contain their stomachs as they watched Piper mouth-feeding Lucifire with... _you-know-what._

" _How long did yours last?_ " Alcove whispered to Darius and Malachite.

" _They're still on it._ " Malachite whispered back.

To prove his point, Emerald was eating grass with Gemstone. In addition, Arkayna and Zarya were grooming Runeford and Howlette with their tongues.

"At least no one was _traumatized_ by this experience." Nova pointed out.

Blue light flashed, and everyone finds the Mysticons sans Piper frozen in place while the Baby Beasts hugged their respective mommies by their legs.

" _Mine!_ " Runeford hissed.

" _Aw. His first word._ " Arkayna gushed in her frozen state.

"Come on guys." Piper bent down to face the Baby Beasts, "No one's taking you away."

 _Yeah. She shouldn't have said that._

In flashes of green, blue, and pink, Runeford, Howlette, and Gemstone disappeared with their mommies.

"It's a good thing we chipped her." Malachite remarked, bringing out a tracking device.

* * *

 **Oh yeah. Forget to mention;**

 **After the Astromancers proved they were pure of heart, they were all bestowed with the powers of the Mystical Beasts, giving them brand new robes, and turned their magical auras from purple to gold.**


End file.
